Barnaby Joyce welcomes ACCC petrol pricing deep dive at Armidale

03 Aug 2015

 

FEDERAL Member for New England, Barnaby Joyce has welcomed the announcement by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that Armidale will be the third regional location for their petrol pricing ‘deep dive’.

 

Mr Joyce said he’d made a number of representations on behalf of New England Electorate constituents on the difference in fuel prices compared with other parts of the nation.

 

“Even across the Electorate there are marked differences in fuel prices in centres that might only be 100 kilometres apart,” he said.

 

In December 2014, the Abbott Government empowered the ACCC to conduct ‘deep dives’ into specific markets that they believed require closer and more specific examination.

 

The ACCC conduct these investigations in areas where they have identified perceived irregularities in the fuel market that has potential detriment to local motorists.

 

The identification of Armidale as a site for further investigation is in response to legitimate community concern and local information that has been passed on to Minister Joyce and to the ACCC.

 

Mr Joyce said this is the third “deep dive” announced by the ACCC.

 

He said the Commission began its first regional market study in Darwin in March 2015 and its second in Launceston in May 2015. It expects to report on these market studies by the end of this year.

 

“We urge local residents to share their experiences as consumers with the ACCC.

 

“The Commission is interested in obtaining information from consumers, industry participants, stakeholders and any other interested parties regarding the petroleum industry in Armidale,” he said.

 

“Fuel prices play an important role in our daily lives. The cost of freight to and from our region, the stock from our saleyards and the grain from our silos all rely on competitive price inputs,” Mr Joyce said.

 

Relevant information can be provided to the ACCC at https://consultation.accc.gov.au/  by 31 October 2015.

 

 

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